My sister would say that I've been living in Seattle too long. While I certainly don't disagree with her, for completely different reasons, I definitely have changed in the five years we have been here. (Don't get me wrong. I do love living here.)
One of those many changes include how I take care of myself, personal hygiene-wise. Now, I have not become a non-shaving, skirt wearing, non-bathing, dreadlocked hippy. In fact, none of those descriptions would apply to me, except for skirt wearing and only on Sundays. But I have stopped using shampoo and conditioner.
Now, before you get up and move as far from me as possible, I promise you my hair is clean. Very clean and probably the healthiest it's been in years. It is even coming in a little wavy, something that I've never used to describe my hair, except on the odd day with 99% humidity. It's growing out now, but I even had that lovely halo of new hair growing in for a while. You know, the one that makes your hair look frizzy no matter what you do? It is finally getting long enough that it isn't as bad, but that means my hair will be thicker, and I need it!
So, when did I start this rather crunchy habit? Well, I first read about it in September '09, thought seriously about it in November '09, and did something about it in December '09. That's been more than six months of being shampoo free. And I love it.
Why do I love it? Well, my hair has responded very well to it. But it is more than that. It is also very "green", which also appeals to me, for reasons I'm not sure of. The final reason, and perhaps my favorite, is cost. It is SO CHEAP. A tablespoon of baking soda lasts me about two weeks. A tablespoon of baking soda costs three cents (if you pay a dollar a box). Add a couple pennies for the water and suddenly you are paying 10 cents or less a month to wash your hair. Compare that to the $3 a bottle (at least) I was spending before. The apple cider vinegar rinse is more expensive, but still probably only ends up being 20-30 cents a month. You do the math.
Unfortunately, I don't have a good picture of my hair to show off. But really, who wants to see a close up of my hair anyway. Just trust me; it looks great.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Oh thanks! I'm going to pass this on to my neighbor who has been looking for something like this.
I'm tempted. I'll let you know what ends up happening.
Know anyone with curly hair try it. My hair has been a frizzy mess since puberty, products and all. If this would tame it, it would definitely be worth a shot.
Anna, I did have a friend with curly hair that tried it. She ended up using straight apple cider vinegar to keep it smooth, but she loved it. That's the nice thing about it: you can make it as strong or weak as you need to meet your needs. If it doesn't work right away, change the concentration. Good luck!
It's funny that you mention that. I have a few friends who use the no poo method full time. I just use soda with a vinegar rinse when I need to strip styling products out of my hair. It works awesome. Of course I use about 4 T for one stripping, and then leave it sit for a long time. It takes months of built up hair spray and even pomade/wax out. Glad it's working so good for you. I would consider it, but I keep finding ways to get shampoo for free with coupons. But if that ever runs out I'm going to try it.
Post a Comment